22x04 - Benefit of the Doubt

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Law & Order". Aired: September 1990 to May 2010.*
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22x04 - Benefit of the Doubt

Post by bunniefuu »

In the criminal justice system,

the people are represented

by two separate,
yet equally important groups:

the police, who investigate crime,

and the district attorneys,
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

No, no, no, leave those.

I'll take care of it.

I promised your mom
I wouldn't let you be late.

It's all right.
I'm carpooling with Annie.

Her mom's picking me up.

Did you finish that
"Scarlet Letter" thing?

- The homework thing?
- Yes, Dad.

And I'm ready for the
math test, so stop worrying.

You'll understand one day.

I already do.

They're almost here. Bye, I love you.

Love you.

- Love you more.
- [GIGGLES]

- Love you the most.
- [LAUGHS]

[SENTIMENTAL MUSIC]



[PHONE BUZZES]

Yeah, Jalen, what's up?

[TENSE MUSIC]



Somebody really put
this poor girl through it.

Based on rigor, she d*ed
within the last eight hours.

Multiple s*ab wounds.
No obvious signs of sex as*ault,

but petechial hemorrhages in the eyes

indicate neck compression.

- More later.
- ID?

Bag her hands.

Not a lot of blood, considering.

Could have been stabbed post-mortem,

k*lled elsewhere, dumped here.

What's up with her ear?

Looks like an earring was ripped out.

A clump of hair was cut.

Souvenir collector?

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

It sure would be nice
if we could ID her.

Detectives, we think
this might be the vic's bag.

Officer, you never move evidence.

Give it. It's too late now.



Christina Watkins.

That's the author.

"CINNAMON GIRL: My Sweet
and Spicy Life as a Waitress

at a Five Star Restaurant."

Why would the k*ller leave that here?

Maybe he wanted us to know
that she was somebody.

A promising young author
making an exciting debut.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]



Okay, talk to me.

Our vic is Christina Watkins. She's .

She published a memoir
last month about working

at a downtown restaurant.

She was found by a city
employee at Highbridge Park.

So uptown, underpopulated,
remote area of the city.

Let me guess, no video?

And no blood trail.

And no witnesses
who saw how she got there.

What about a m*rder w*apon?

Didn't find one, but wounds indicate

a sharp, angular blade

sharp enough to cut off
some of her hair as well.

So she was tied up,
and an earring was torn off.

Are we thinking there might
have been a ritual element?

Not going there yet.

Do we know where she was beforehand?

Working on a timeline.

We found her phone on Upper Broadway,

four miles from the crime scene.

It had been run over a few times.

Are there any texts, calls in the cloud

that might tell us who she was with?

Just a couple messages after : .

One for an Uber she canceled
just before midnight,

and another to a Scott Baker,
who seems to be her roommate.

We found this photo of them
together on social media.

Are those the
same kind of angular blades

as the m*rder w*apon?

Who is this guy?

He calls himself a man with an edge.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]



What?

Christina's dead?

That's insane.

Were you two an item?

No.

She was all about her writing.

There was a party at the
restaurant where she worked

to celebrate last night.

Were you there?

No.

I had to be at my regular
gig at the Flying Hatchet.

What's that?

It's an a* throwing bar in Williamsburg.

Alcohol and sharp objects.
What could go wrong?

How late were you there until?

: in the morning.

I'm the manager. I had to clean up.

When you got home, was Christina here?

No.

I thought she might have hooked
up with someone at the party.

Do you have a location of this soiree?

The Yellow Ribbon.

I can't believe this.

When did Christina leave?

Around midnight, I think?

She was feeling a little off.

Do you know if she left with anyone?

No, but I was kind of distracted.

There were a lot of VIPs.

People really wanted to come
out and celebrate her success.

She was really beloved by everyone.

And nobody gave her
a hard time about what

she wrote in the book?

Not that I saw.

But I know there was some commotion

when Tina went out to the
corner to wait for her Uber.

This is you, : last night
outside Yellow Ribbon?

Yeah, I just left the party.
I saw the two of them arguing.

He was...

[SCOFFS] Drunk.

He started ranting and raving
at Christina, so I, uh...

You jumped in to protect her,
is that right?

Yeah.

Yeah, he was so aggressive, right?

So I... I pushed him away.
Thankfully, he just walked off.

I'm... I'm no hero, trust me.

I'm not like you guys.

So, um, when this drunk guy...

Excuse me.

After this drunk guy walked off,

where did Christina go? Did you see?

Did she hail a cab, start walking home?

- What happened?
- I wish I knew.

- I'm not really sure.
- What about you?

- Where'd you go?
- Home.

I had a really early
call time this morning.

Yeah.

Um, anything else, guys?

I'm really sorry. I have to get to set.

Just one last thing.

The guy who was harassing her,
do you know who he was?

Yeah, I'm afraid so.

Why are you afraid?

Because he's a friend of mine.

Victor Bernini.

The chef.

[DOOR BUZZES, LOCK CLICKS]

[DOOR OPENS]

What's up?

Uh, we... we're looking
for a Victor Bernini?

Join the club.

Uh, what does that mean?

He was supposed to meet me
here around midnight.

- He never showed.
- He never showed?

Mm-hmm.

Um, do you have any idea
where he would be?

No, I just crashed here
when he blew me off.

- Hmm.
- Yeah.

To be honest, I actually
don't know him that well.

Uh, we just get together
and party once in a while.

Did he mention stopping
by his old restaurant

- early in the evening?
- Yeah.

Yeah, he seemed pretty torqued about it.

In fact, he's generally
pretty torqued these days.

- Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.

So Victor Bernini
is nowhere to be found.

Well, we're waiting
on cell phone, credit card,

and E-ZPass records.

And you think he's a credible suspect?

Multiple arrests for DUI
and disorderly conduct.

Plus, he got into an argument
with the vic

shortly before the m*rder.

I thought he was some kind
of world-renowned chef.

He is, but this guy
goes hard in the paint.

I mean, a lot of dr*gs,
a lot of drinking.

- It seems like he's spiraling.
- Meaning?

He was forced out of his
own restaurant by investors,

and he just declared
personal bankruptcy.

Okay, so Bernini's having a rough time.

Why would he go after Christina Watkins?

I've been reading her book.

She's not very flattering.

Victor comes off
like a drugged-out sex addict.

Two days after that book was published,

that's when he got pushed out
of the restaurant.

And then his staff celebrated
for a week after his exit.

See, the point here is,
Victor is a person of interest.

The sooner we lay hands
on him, the better.

[COMPUTER CHIMES]

You might not have to wait that long.

Operations just notified me

there's an EDP job at Yellow Ribbon.

It's Bernini.

Okay, guys, watch yourselves.

[TIRES SCREECHING]

[PEOPLE SCREAMING]

[TENSE MUSIC]

- Drop it now!
- Let go! Put it down!

Blue coming through.



Hey, Victor, what's going on?

Chef!

Yeah, you got her, Chef.
Put the Kn*fe down.

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

You've already taken everything I have.

I'm not letting you take this place too.

Hey, hey, Chef.

I'm giving you a choice here.

Now drop the blade, or I drop you.

If I lose this place,
I have nothing to live for.

Chef, put the Kn*fe down,

or my partner's gonna
make sure you never see

the inside of another kitchen again.

Do you understand me?
Is that the ending you want?

Is it?

Put it down.



[Kn*fe CLATTERS]

First smart decision
you've made all day.

You keep asking.

The doctors keep asking
what dr*gs I took

because my blood pressure is heightened.

I don't remember.

I guess I'm in trouble now.

Yeah, m*rder is a pretty
big deal, even these days.

What are you talking about?

Christina Watkins
was found m*rder*d uptown.

And you think I did it?

That's crazy.

You confronted her outside
of the book party.

I liked Christina.

But when I heard that
they were gonna do the party

at the Yellow Ribbon, my restaurant...

The book really hurt me.

Oh, so you put a hurting on her?

No.

After we argued,
we went our separate ways.

Except the woman you were supposed to

hook up with that night
said you never showed,

and you don't even remember
what dr*gs you took.

I didn't do it.

I swear.

Where'd you go when
the book party broke up?

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]



[UPBEAT DANCE MUSIC PLAYING]

This is from : last night?

Yeah, Victor came in loaded,
throwing money at the dancers

and bitching about our food quality.

How long did he stick around?

He was still here when I
came in at : this morning.

[WHISTLES]

He passed out in the VIP room,

so we let him stay 'cause
he's such a loyal customer.

If Victor's not our guy,
we're back to square one.

[PHONE BUZZES]

Well, maybe not.

M.E.'s done with the autopsy.

Wants to see us ASAP.

You were right.

Broken hyoid bone confirms
manual strangulation.

And most of the s*ab wounds
were post-mortem.

No obvious indicia of fluids
or other DNA sources.

I stopped listening after
you said "you were right."

But you missed burn marks
on the back side

and bruising on the torso.

Uh, yeah, because she was
dressed when we found her.

Exactly.

Indicating they took her somewhere else,

undressed her and tortured her,
dressed her again,

and brought her to the park.

Otherwise, there'd still be
more grass on her skin.

So we were right about that too.

Nuh-uh. Here's what you missed.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

A small puncture from a needle stick.

So what, she was dosed with a sedative?

Well, there's enough propofol
in her to knock over a horse.

To immobilize her while he treated her

like a voodoo doll.

I can't speak to the psychology,

but I've seen this MO before.

- When?
- A few years ago.

I pulled the case file
before you got here.

Thank you.

Oh, you son of a bitch.
You still got all your hair.

Shaw, meet Jerry Ryan.

I hate to say it, a great detective

and also godfather to my daughter, Lily.

- Hey, how you doing?
- How you doing?

- How's Wendy and the kids?
- Oh, she's good.

You know, she's still working,

still doing the church volunteer thing.

So at least one of us is,
uh, gonna go to heaven.

[ALL CHUCKLE]

Anyway, this is why I had
you guys come over here.

Is this the similar case
the M.E. was talking about?

Yeah, five years ago,
this woman, Li Na Chang,

was found stabbed and strangled

at a Chinatown hot sheets motel.

Okay, anything else?

Yeah, she was doped with Rohypnol,

tied up, beaten.

Multiple s*ab wounds, but no r*pe.

Is that it for the similarities?

No, that's not it.

I got cases here from
New Jersey, California, London,

all with the same MO.

No r*pe.

Our guy gets his kicks,
you know, otherwise.

London?

Yeah, I get alerts from Interpol.

Are those all the connections, Jerry?

No!

You think I'd drag you guys
out here on a wild goose chase?

These are copies I made at Squad.

Take them home. See for yourself.

This dude is the guy for all four cases.

I'll bet my shield on it.

Look, Frank, I'm not sure I agree

with your friend's theory
tying all these cases together.

Like, the two were robberies,

and none of them involve propofol

or post-mortem stabbing.

Okay, okay, I get it.

But I wasn't just
blowing smoke in there.

He's a great cop with good instincts.

I'm sure he is,
but right now, he's grasping.

These suspects sketches can be anybody.

Okay, but you do see the similarities

in the victims' looks, right?

They all have dark hair,
strong features.

Of course I see that,

but they're all from
different backgrounds.

They're all from different
kinds of neighborhoods.

Some of these were planned,

some of these were crimes
of opportunity.

- It doesn't make sense.
- Maybe he was escalating.

To what?

Escalating with the
brutality of the att*cks

and the type of victims
he was selecting.

Going up the social ladder rung by rung,

getting bolder and bolder
with each m*rder.

It's a nice theory.

But based on the evidence
that's available to us,

it's not enough.

Witnesses describe
a tall white dude in shades

near all the crime scenes.

In Chinatown and California,

witnesses describe also seeing

a tall white dude driving a black Tesla.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Hold on.

New Jersey, New Jersey, Jersey, Jersey.

The witness in the New Jersey m*rder

saw a black Tesla near the crime scene.

The license plate stuck out to him

because it started with H-A, like ha,

as if the suspect was laughing.

Using the same vehicle
in all his killings?

I don't know.

A little too obvious?

Or a little too brazen.

This is from the area
around the party that night.

Aggregated from Traffic Division.

It's a lot to get through.

Hold up. That's a black Tesla.

How far away is that
from the restaurant?

A block away,
right before Christina left.

Show me the area that's close to where

Christina's phone was tossed.

Maybe there's a better angle
of the plate?

I was looking before,
but it's a busy street,

and the closest camera
was a quarter mile away.

Stop. Stop. Right there.

Let's see who that's registered to.

Niles Harper, the actor.

He wasn't lying.

About what?

Not being a hero.

I was supposed to be
on my day off today,

but when you told me about
this Niles Harper guy,

I just... you know,
just kind of went to town.

What'd I tell you, Shaw?
Dog with a bone.

I tracked Niles's schedule
of acting jobs

over the past few years
and tried to correlate that

with the pattern of the serial k*ller.

Alleged serial k*ller.

Well, just check me on this,
Detective Shaw, okay?

- Mm.
- All right.

So five years ago,
time of the Chinatown m*rder,

Niles is living in the city
doing theater.

A year later, he's out
in Jersey making a TV show.

And nine miles away,
a cleaning lady gets strangled.

Then, three years ago,
he's outside of LA

making a TV commercial.

A soccer mom in Joshua Tree gets k*lled.

And then, two years ago
in London, an ad executive

is k*lled one mile away
from the set of this

Jack the Ripper movie he's
doing, all with the same MO.

Getting warmer,
but it's still circumstantial.

All right, well...

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Check that out.

That's from the Chinatown Motel lobby.

Uh, I mean, it could be Niles.

Maybe not. Can't really tell.

Well, compare it to this.

Look at his wrist.

That's our guy.

You know it, and I know it.

Okay, let's figure out
where he is right now

so we can talk to him, get to him

before he lawyers up.

So sorry we got to talk
on the run, guys,

but, uh, we are way behind schedule.

- Time is money.
- No problem.

Just want to double check on
something about

the last time you saw Christina.

Yeah, like I said, I, uh...

I dropped her off at the subway
station on my way uptown.

That's odd, I don't remember
you saying you gave her a ride.

- I didn't.
- Why's that?

The woman that was in my trailer before,

she's my girlfriend.

I just... I didn't feel like
advertising the fact

that I gave Christina
a ride to the subway.

Are you saying you and Christina

- fooled around in your car?
- No, no, no, no.

I just gave her a ride.

But Megan, my girlfriend,
you know, she's a girl.

She gets jealous.

Hey, uh, do you mind
if I ask you a question?

Yeah.

What is the story with
that thing on your wrist?

- This?
- Yeah.

I used to have a tat there.

Yeah, a... [CHUCKLES]

A director asked me to get it
removed for a period picture.

And they couldn't just put makeup on it?

Well, I had a girlfriend at the time,

and she didn't like it much, either.

Hey, uh, what time
did you get home that night?

Uh, : , : .

Something like that.

Listen, guys, I got to go to set.

The line producer...
He's gonna m*rder me.

We can talk more later if you want.



- What's going on, Jerry?
- You heard him, Frank.

He lied about giving a ride
to Christina that night.

That makes him a legitimate
suspect, which makes this car

- a potential crime scene.
- Oh, no, no, no, no, no.

Hey, Jerry, we need a warrant.
You know that.

We don't have any time.

What's your probable cause then?

Hey, Frank told me you got
a law degree, but we're cops.

So maybe you should start thinking like

one of us instead of one of them.

What the hell's going on?

We'd like to search your
car if that's okay with you.

Sorry, I'm running late.

It'll take two, three minutes, tops.

You got a warrant?

Not yet.

- I see blood.
- Hands off the wheel.

- Step out of the vehicle.
- Okay, relax.

- Step out of the vehicle.
- Relax, bro.

I'm just an actor.

There's no blood in there.

What do you got, Jerry? Talk to me.

I saw something red.
Just give me a second.

Frank, right there.

Right on the edge of the mat.

You see it?



Matches the earring
we found on Christina.

Cuff him.

What are we doing here, gentlemen?

My client already told you
he gave Christina Watkins

a ride to the subway.

Big deal. Her earring fell off.

There was blood on the earring,

so it didn't exactly fall off.

He's right. He's right.

I... I didn't want to admit this before,

but we started kissing
in the car, all right?

And it got physical.

And, uh, she liked it rough.

That's what you're gonna tell the judge?

That she liked her earrings
ripped out of her ears?

We just searched your apartment,

and we found some
very interesting items.

[CHUCKLES] I'm sure you did.

Fans send me
crazy souvenirs all the time.

Yeah, like a clump of streaked hair

that was hacked off the victim?

We also found a set
of specialized chef knives

from a limited edition.

Only one of those knives was missing.

It was a boning Kn*fe
with an angular blade...

The kind that was used
to s*ab Ms. Watkins.



Stand up.

Niles Harper, you're being charged

with the m*rder of Christina Watkins.

Mr. Harper, how do you plead?

Not guilty, Your Honor.

Bail?

Judge, the people request remand.

The defendant is an
international film star

with an overseas support network

and projects in countries

without extradition treaties
with the U.S.

Your Honor, Mr. Harper has
family in the area,

strong ties to the community,

and has made major investments

in struggling parts of the South Bronx.

The police found the victim's
bloody earring in his car.

Mr. Harper has an airtight alibi

for the night of the m*rder.

He was at home
with his girlfriend in Tribeca

while Ms. Watkins was getting k*lled

on the opposite end of Manhattan Island.

Mr. Harper, given the risk of flight

in the face of these charges,
you are remanded.

[GAVEL SLAMS] Next case.

I just need to ask you a few things.

I already said I don't want
to talk to you people.

Well, then you can testify
in court under subpoena.

Niles was home by : ,
and he was in bed with me

the rest of the night.

We both know that isn't the truth.

Look at these.

Look what he did to these women.

They weren't human to him.

They were just things
he tore up and threw away.

You think this won't happen to you?

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

You're wrong.

There's no way he did this.

He's a k*ller, a savage.

He was with me from : on.

So if you ask me to testify,
that's what I'll say.

Niles Harper is a prime example

of the power of celebrity.

People do or say anything
to protect him.

Can we shake his alibi?

Is there any video
near his house that shows

- what time he got home?
- We didn't find anything.

And he turned off his phone
and disabled the GPS in his car

so we can't track his movements.

Maybe you can use that
to show consciousness of guilt.

Bad news... Judge Maldonado just denied

our Molineux application.

He rejected it outright?

We can't mention any
of Niles's prior bad acts.

So nothing about the other homicides

in New Jersey, London,
California, and Chinatown.

Okay, so we need to make this
case about Christina Watkins...

And only Christina Watkins.

Won't be easy.

Niles is a handsome,
charming movie star.

The jurors are gonna have
a hard time believing

he did something this depraved.

The facts are the facts.

Niles lied about giving Christina a ride

to the subway that night.

We found clumps of her hair
in his apartment

and her bloody earring in his car.

We're good, Jack. The case is strong.

[PHONE DINGS]

Niles's lawyer just filed
a motion to suppress.

I don't think I've ever
seen a more blatant violation

of the Fourth Amendment than this search

of my client's car.

No warrant, no probable cause.

Detective Ryan thought he saw
blood in the defendant's car.

That gave him probable cause to search.

And yet, no blood was ever found.

They found a bloody earring.

They should have got a warrant.

Mr. Harper was about to drive away.

That created exigent circumstances.

The detective should have
impounded the car

and got a warrant.

All right, I've heard enough.

I agree with the defense.

Your Honor, this is a technicality.

It's inevitable they would
have found the earring.

The application to suppress is granted.

Thank you.

It follows that whatever they recovered

from my client's apartment...
The hair and the knives...

Are fruit of the poison tree
and must be excluded as well.

Agreed.

[TENSE MUSIC]



What the hell kind of
prosecutors are you guys?

I thought you knew what you were doing.

We're lucky the judge didn't
dismiss the entire case.

And what is that supposed to mean?

You had no right to enter the car.

They have a point, Jerry.

There was no blood in the car.

- You were not th...
- Okay, okay, okay.

It is what it is. Let's move on.

Figure out how we can win this thing.

Well, I can tap dance for a few days,

call a medical examiner,

victim's family members to testify.

But if we don't find some
hard evidence, we're done.

The case will be dismissed.



Talk about a Hail Mary.

Yeah, you heard the man, Jerry.

We got two days to the trial,
and we got stugatz.

This park used to be a dumping ground

for stolen cars.

You remember that, Frank?

How did Niles know
about this place anyway?

What did he do? sh**t a movie here?

No. No, I already checked.

Hey, buddy!

You got a minute?

What can I do for you?

I'm Ray.

You happen to find any knives
around here with that thing?

No knives.

No g*ns.

Found a Cadillac fender,
though, two days ago.

Took him straight across the bridge

to the scrap yards in the Bronx.

There's not as many scrap yards
as there used to be.

People fixing up those
old warehouses trying to,

uh, you know, revitalize the area.

Yeah, thank you for your time.

I appreciate that.

That's the way it is in New York, right?

- That's right.
- Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure.

Things always change.

They always change.

Didn't Niles's lawyer
say that he was investing

in struggling neighborhoods
in the Bronx?

Yeah, and she sounded
real proud of it, too,

like it proved her client
was a good guy or something.

I'm gonna get my phone,
I'm gonna call Yee,

I'm gonna see if she can find
out what properties he owns.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]



This is the address.

License plate reader puts
Niles's car across the street

the night of the m*rder, so he was here.

Spread out. Watch yourselves.



Hey, I got something over here.

What do you got?

One-bedroom apartment.

Hit that with luminol.

Niles must have used a tarp
and bleached the hell

out of this place. I can still smell it.

No blood.

All right, let's keep looking.

Clock is ticking. Let's go.



- Frank, come here.
- Yeah.

I already looked over there.

No, I think you missed something.

You, too, Jalen.
Take a look for yourself.

To Christina.

With love, from Mom.

We got him, Jerry.

- Yeah, we did. We did.
- We've got him.

Yeah.

Most of you probably recognize

the defendant, Niles Harper.

He's a movie star.

He's played many memorable
and compelling characters.

You've seen him on the big screen.

You like him.

But you don't really know him.

The actual Niles Harper is a

violent and sadistic predator

who saw Christina Watkins at a
party, lured her into his car,

then tortured and k*lled her
in a warehouse

he owns in the Bronx.

The evidence against the
defendant is substantial.

He lied to the police
on numerous occasions

when trying to explain his whereabouts

on the night of the m*rder.

Even more damning, the police
found Christina's necklace

in the defendant's warehouse,
which just so happens

to be located a quarter mile
from the park

where her mutilated corpse was found.

Ladies and gentlemen,

don't make the same mistake

Christina Watkins made.

Don't let Niles Harper
fool you into thinking

he's a good person because he's not.

He's a violent, vicious m*rder*r.

I agree with much of what
Mr. Price just said.

This case is full of illusions.

But it's the evidence against my client

that is the illusion.

They have nothing.

No witnesses, no forensics,
no confession.

And to make matters worse,

this case is rife
with police misconduct.

We used to always give the police

the benefit of the doubt.

Not anymore.

Scrutinize every word that
comes out of their mouths,

because we've seen what they do

when they think no one is looking.

Don't let them get away
with it this time.

[TENSE MUSIC]



Have Cosgrove reach out
to Christina's mother.

We need to nail down
some of these details.

I'm sorry, I don't keep track
of things too well.

I don't get a whole lot
of sleep these days.

Uh, remind me what it
is I'm looking for.

I'm looking for credit card
statements or receipts

that would show that you purchased

that necklace for Christina.

Right, sorry.

I just remembered I paid cash for it.

- Does that hurt the case?
- It's not a big problem.

We still have the necklace.
It's a good piece of evidence.

Thank God.

I just want to make sure that
that monster pays

for what he did to my Tina,

and that he never does it
to anyone else's daughter.

Patti, we all feel the same way.

I know you do.

Jerry spoke so highly of you.

Jerry?

I didn't know you spoke
with Detective Ryan.

Yeah, he came by the other day

just to check and see how I was doing.

Wait, did I say something wrong?

Oh, no, not at all.

Not at all.
Let's see if we can find that receipt.

Next round's on you.

Bottoms up, my friend.

By the way, I didn't realize
you stopped by

and saw Christina's mother.

Oh, that's what I always told you.

You stay in touch
with the victim's family

because you never know
when somebody's gonna

- remember something useful.
- Good advice.

That's why I was
surprised you didn't ask

me and Shaw to come with.

We were supposed to be
primaries on the case.

Is this about your ego, Frank?

No, it's about the fact that you went by

and saw Christina's mother now

before we searched the warehouse.



What are you saying?

That spot where we found the necklace,

I searched that area a minute
before and it wasn't there.

[SCOFFS] You're confused.

Ahh.

I need a refill.

Jerry.

Jerry, it's me.

This is not the way we do it.

I have been doing it
the right way for years.

The necklace was there.

You just missed it.



Can you tell us what we're
looking at here, Detective?

It's footage from a three-hour window

around the time
that Niles Harper told us

that he dropped Christina Watkins
off of the subway station.

And does Christina Watkins
appear in it at any time?

No, she does not.

What are we looking at here?

That's an image from NYPD Auto Crime

around : a.m. that same night

when they were in the area
looking for stolen cars.

Can you identify the car?

It's a vehicle registered to
Niles Harper parked in front

of the warehouse he owns in the Bronx

at a time when he claimed
he was home in bed.

The same Bronx warehouse
where this necklace was found?

Yes. We were searching the premises.

I noticed something glimmer
under a tool cabinet.

I called over
Detectives Cosgrove and Shaw.

Detective Shaw reached down
and found the necklace

and read the inscription.

"To Christina.

With love, from Mom."

Thank you. No further questions.

Counselor.

Detective Ryan, are you modest?

Uh, no, not particularly.

I'm a detective first grade.

Means I'm really good at my job.

Mm.

And yet you credit Detective Shaw

with finding the necklace.

But you were the one who
spotted it first, didn't you?

I did.

Even though the other officers

had already looked in the area?

Well, that can happen in a rush.

Detective, you planted that necklace

in the warehouse, didn't you?

No.

You remember you're
under oath, don't you?

The penalties for tampering
and perjury are serious.

I know the law.

You hate my client, don't you?

I hate people who m*rder women.

So, yeah, I don't care for him too much.

And you'd do anything

to ensure he's convicted, wouldn't you?

No.

I'm an honest cop.

I do it the right way.

But you already know that.

This is a photo taken

the night of the m*rder.

[TENSE MUSIC]

As you can see, Christina isn't wearing

the necklace you claim
to have found in the warehouse.

So if she's not wearing it,

how did it end up in a warehouse

a few hours later?

Could have been in her purse,

her pocket, her hand.

Who knows?

But it was there.

We found it in the warehouse.

That's a fact.

You finding it is a fact.

That doesn't mean you didn't plant it.

Objection. She's badgering the witness.

Sustained.

Move on, Ms. Hunt.

Nothing further.

The defense rests, Your Honor.

Court is adjourned
for the jury to deliberate.

[GAVEL SLAMS]



Frank, if you got something
to tell me, tell me now.

We got our man, Jalen.

That's all you need to know.

Has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

Will the defendant please rise?

In the charge of m*rder
in the second degree,

we find the defendant,
Niles Harper, guilty.

Members of the jury,
thank you for your service.

Court is adjourned.

[GAVEL SLAMS]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

- Ma'am.
- Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.



Something smells good.

I brought dessert.

Good.

Mom put out an extra setting.

Uncle Jerry is here to celebrate.

What do you say, Frank?

All's well that ends well, huh?

Honey, take this in to your mom.

Tell her to hold off on dinner.
I need to talk to your godfather.

Okay.

Dinner's almost ready.

Well, really went for it this time.

-year-old single malt,
sherry cask, the whole deal.

Cost me bucks,
but the guy said it was worth it.

Here you go.



What's wrong?

I can't accept this.

Frank, why not?

Frank, justice was served today.

You need to leave.



Jerry, you need to leave.

[SIGHS]
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